Effective Management Association Newsletter - May 2025
- leisa30
- Jun 14
- 6 min read
"Works of art are viewed by people. They are heard by people. They are felt by people. They are not just the fodder of a close-knit group of initiates. They are the soul food of all people."
- L. Ron Hubbard
Message from the Director
Did you know that despite the fact that there are around two million arts graduates in the US with bachelor’s degrees in the various arts, including film, photography, visual and performing arts, only ten percent make their primary earnings as working artists. Add to this, seven of the top ten most expensive institutions of higher education in this country are art schools. Whether formally educated or self-taught, statistics show that artists who have little knowledge of the business side of the art world, have little hope of succeeding. That’s exactly where EMA Artists USA fits in. Read the successes below from our artist members so you can find out how having administrative basics and being a part of this team has benefited them in their artist endeavors.
– Leisa Collins
Featured Artist of the Month: Roger Harrison
Roger's musical journey began at age 9, focusing on classical and religious music. He continued his studies through undergrad, but his true passion was jazz. Pursuing this interest, he spent decades mastering the art form.
In 2008, he formed The Harrison Jazz Ensemble, adding a touch of sophistication to weddings and other events. He strongly believes in first discovering the client's vision and then executing it precisely. This care for others, combined with his use of the Hubbard Management System, has resulted in a thriving art business.
Please tell us a little bit about your art business.
I have a jazz band that performs primarily for weddings, corporate events and private parties. I'm also a solo artist who occasionally performs concerts or similar events as the jazz band.
In general, how has the use of Mr. Hubbard's administrative technology impacted your business?
It's given me a framework to operate from which is VERY important. When one is attempting to build a business, there must be sequences and structure to hold things together and create predictability. The Hubbard Management System gives me certainty to do that in any particular circumstance that may arise and lays out the steps to take to become successful.
What piece of Mr. Hubbard's administrative wisdom have you found particularly helpful in making your business successful?
THINK BIG! THINK IN FUTURES!
As a successful art business owner, is there one really valuable tip that you would like our readers to take away with them?
Start with the postulate of what you want to achieve and continually put that there. While doing that create the structure of stats, sales sequences, follow up, Financial Planning and actually all of the functions of the organizing board.
Be very aware of how these mesh together and use them to spot where corrections or reinforcements need to be made.
You can find Roger online at his website, Harrison Jazz Ensemble and on Instagram.
Artist Members in Action
Joel Morris and Richel Lavette
Rather than wait for an art exhibition where they could display their artwork, EMA Artists members Joel Morris and Richel Lavette decided to create their own. They found a location to stage an art exhibition, held a planning meeting and got things going.
In order to pull off such an event Joel and Richel worked with the selected venue, Elevate Senior Living of Clearwater, and invited other like-minded art groups to help in the organizing and execution of the event. Along with EMA Artists they worked with Artists for a Better World and The Clearwater Artist Committee. Duties were assigned and production was underway to create a promotional flyer, arrange for live music, promote the event, call for artists to exhibit, sign them up, arrange for the setup on exhibit day and then be there to assist the artists and welcome the attending art enthusiasts.
The art exhibition was a definite success – there were many artists displaying their paintings and photographs along with many art enthusiasts viewing the artwork and engaging in spirited conversations with the artists. It was such a successful action to get art and artists better known in the community that Richel and Joel are already planning the next one.
You can find Joel online on his website, Joel's Sketchbook of Life
You can find Richel online on her website, Lavette Photo Studios.
Curt Strickland
The work of emerging playwright Curt Strickland has received recognition and praise. His play 1968 was awarded best play of 2024 by the William Faulkner Literary Competition, and fan favorite Speed Dating has now been performed in over fifty theaters through the U.S., Canada and England.
One theater director had this to say:
Dear Mr. Strickland,
My name is Vince Umbrino, I'm a member of the Brewster Theater Company in Carmel, New York, and I recently had the privilege of directing your play, Speed Dating, for our annual Playwright's Festival. The festival was held this past weekend and I wanted to reach out and let you know that your piece, one of nine produced, was one of, if not the best received of those on offer. I greatly appreciate the care with which you structured this deceptively simple story.
Composing a play is extremely challenging, however I feel that composing short plays presents even greater challenges to a playwright. Very often one is faced with the need to dump out exposition quickly and awkwardly in order to explain to the audience what they should be feeling from moment to moment. Your play, through its setting and characters, both addressed this challenge and deftly swerved around it. It was so much fun to work on.
I was fortunate to work with a couple of our very talented actors (80 percent of directing is casting, I often say) who were able to bring such a delightful sense of charm and mania to the first half of the story, and balanced it out with some real breathtaking sweetness as we learn the true stories of Jesse's and Sara's previous partners. The way in which the audience was captivated, hanging on their every word by the end, was the kind of theater experience that keeps me going.
You can find Curt's writings by going to: Essays, Photography and Plays.
Doug Crowder
“Was Atlantis real, or just a legend? The debate always goes back to Plato, the Greek philosopher, who made the first written reference to Atlantis in about 360 BC. Well, I finally discovered the TRUTH about Atlantis. I traveled back in time to ask Plato himself. And believe me, you’re not going to like his answer!”
Thus begins Doug Crowder’s recent novel, The Amazing Origin of Atlantis, which solves all the mysteries of the lost continent. WHERE was Atlantis? WHAT happened to it and HOW? More importantly, WHO caused it, and WHY? And perhaps most important of all, WILL Atlantis make a comeback?
As well as being a science fiction writer, Doug is also a lawyer and a painter. You can find out more about him and his work on his website, WestAtlantis.com.
DISCLAIMER: The book is officially described as FICTION (with the small number who believe otherwise urged to stay quiet).
On the Lighter Side
This cartoon was created by EMA Artists USA member, Steve Gill, who spent 40 years traveling to shows all over the United States, selling his humorous artwork and making people laugh. Steve is the Resident Cartoonist for EMA Artists and this light-hearted works are included in each of our newsletter.
Interested in learning more about us or becoming a member?
Email us at: emaartistsusa@gmail.com
This month's quote from L. Ron Hubbard can be found on page 14 of the Art Book.
©2025 Effective Management Association Artists. All Rights Reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce a selection from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard. HUBBARD is a trademark and is used pursuant to a license agreement. MODEL OF ADMIN KNOW-HOW and MAKH are trademarks owned by WISE International EFFECTIVE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION is a registered trademark. IA# 053125EUS
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